Accel World Vol 3 Chapter 6 (2/2)

And then, at that moment Haruyuki finally noticed that the basic color of the s.p.a.ce surrounding them was not blue, but pink instead. The slip resistant floor, the slick wall and ceiling, and also the table in front of him, were all greyish pink colored.

...But, that is, there's no way!!

Haruyuki opened his eyes wide as he screamed inside his chest.

For sure, I went into the pa.s.sage with the male marking. That display was not a wall panel, but a direct marking on the wall, so someone switching them as a prank was not possible. Or was it forcefully painted over with some kind of paint? No, there was not enough time for such large scale effort.

While Haruyuki was turning his thinking gears at full speed on various things, Chiyuri finally seem to have realized her current appearance.

As she glanced down at her body, her eyes became round, and the skin up to her ears became blood red. She covered as much of herself as she could with both hands, and raised her head again, taking a deep breath—

The loudest scream or burst of anger was going to be released, but right before that.

From the outside pa.s.sage, the sounds of a few female students chatting as they approached were heard.

Instantly, Haruyuki belatedly realized that this situation could not be explained with just a mistake or a joke.

This, is a truly dangerous situation. If it was exposed to the school authorities, there would be suspension, or expulsion, no, before that— this incident might even involve the police.

Chiyuri might have arrived at that realization at the same time, and from her beet red face, all the blood left it at once. As the two looked at each other with tense faces, the female students' sounds were getting louder and louder.

Suddenly Chiyuri's extended right hand caught Haruyuki's necktie that was on his chest, and pushed him with the power of peremptory force into the shower booth she used a moment earlier. Chiyuri also entered inside, pus.h.i.+ng Haruyuki against the wall with her back, and put her towel on top of the smoke colored door.

She took hold of the shower nozzle, set the touch panel temperature control all the way to the max of 60 degrees C, and turned the faucet fully open. The spray of water that come out fiercely hit the right side wall. With the bursting hot water, the booth was soon covered with pure white steam.

”...Don't say a word, stay still!”

Right after hearing Chiyuri's whisper, in the shower room on the other side of one panel, he felt the presence of at least three girls entering.

”Ah gee, all sticky with sweat!”

”Yeah, I want to wear summer uniform already.”

”I should at least change the Linker pad to mesh.”

Probably, they were track and field club members like Chiyuri. With the voices, sounds of zippers being pulled down continued.

However Haruyuki of course did not have the room to imagine the outside scene, as he pressed his face against the wall, closed his eyes tight, and continued to stay quiet.

With about 90% of his brain taken over by panic, the remain 10% continued to think of the reason why it had become like this.

No matter what, he could not have mistaken the male and female use shower room markings. And since it was impossible to physically change the markings. Then, there was only one trick left.

Electronic markings in his view.

Overwriting his view with the Neuro Linker. With some kind of preset, to change the shower room markings from male to female, and female to male kind of fake picture was filled in with a program that was put in him. With that realization, he arrived, too late, at the thought of the markings that he saw a few minutes ago, the color tones were relatively fresh in the dim hallway. It was like it was giving off its own light.

It was still a mystery where and when that program got into his Neuro Linker, but the person who sent it was probably that guy.

Noumi Seiji.

Everything was Noumi's trap. That guy knew that Haruyuki was peeking at the kendo arena. Then he was lead to the shower room, where he invaded the female side due to reading the markings wrong, and therefore was plunged into this dangerous area. To fully remove Haruyuki, that is the Burst Linker «Silver Crow» from this Umesato middle school.

A fearfully vivid, ruthless, and relentless method.

Just like, the time that Kuroyukihime removed a student named Araya, or even beyond that.

”Ah, Chii? Are you still in there?”

Sudden, right on the other side of the swing door, a girl's voice called out.

Chiyuri's reply that was right beside his ear, Haruyuki listen while cowering in fear.

”Yeah, I was also covered with sweat.”

”Isn't that right, since it's before the district qualifications, the teacher is over enthusiastic.”

With a T-s.h.i.+rt, white s.h.i.+rt, and a blazer on top while in the high temperature steam, Haruyuki's whole body was already covered with sweat, so he could not feel the heat at all. Instead, his teeth were almost chattering due to the cold on his skin.

If right now, the female student playfully opened the part.i.tion, then not only Haruyuki, Chiyuri would also be in trouble. Even though she was the first peeking victim, she would also be punished the same as Haruyuki.

”Hey Chii, isn't the water too hot? There is way too much steam.”

”Ah, it feels better when hot. It also promotes blood flow.”

”Oh no, don't talk like my grandma.”

She and the other students laughed with ”Ahahaha”. Chiyuri also laughed, but pa.s.sing through her back that was in close contact with him, he could feel her muscular body tremble slightly.

...Sorry. Sorry. Forgive me. I was an idiot. If I didn't try something like fis.h.i.+ng for the Neuro Linker in the bag, then something like this wouldn't have happened!

While screaming that in his heart, he ground his inner teeth to the limit— at that time.

A *creak* kind of door swing sound, made Haruyuki's body jerked in surprise.

However that was, the sound of a girl entering the booth beside. Then two more door open and close sounds came after, and shower water sounds all started.

A few seconds later, he felt that Chiyuri's body leave him momentarily to check outside.

She soon returned, and after turning towards Haruyuki's face, said with only her lips moving.

—Right now, get out!

Haruyuki held his breath, and nodded without even able to say thanks to Chiyuri's quick wit, then unsteadily stepped out of the booth.

He only glared at the exit, and desperately moved his tense body in a half bent posture one step, two step forward. If he fell here— or some other girls came in....

That kind of thinking almost made him faint, but miraculously his feet did not tangle, and Haruyuki succeeded in escaping from the shower room. After a short run past the U-shaped bend, he reached the separation area between the boy's and girl's sides, then leaned his lost strength back on the wall.

Strength left his legs, and he was going to sit down like that, but the sudden eruption of anger prevented that.

”...b.a.s.t.a.r.d...!”

After that shout in his mouth, he lifted his head, and charged towards the actual male shower room on the opposite side of the hallway.

—However. In the pale bluish grey colored s.p.a.ce, there was no one there. There was no sign of the shower booths being used. Probably, at the time of Haruyuki's intrusion into the girl's side, Noumi had already left.

”...s.h.i.+t.”

With that groan, Haruyuki hit the wall behind him with a *bang*.

About two hours later, in his apartment's 22nd floor's Kuras.h.i.+ma house, in Chiyuri's room.

Haruyuki pushed his forehead directly onto the floor.

”Excuse me, sorry, my bad, really sorry!!”

Not sure how many times the words of apology, that he kept repeating.

The owner of the room, while sitting on the edge of the bed in her school uniform with arms crossed, continued to release intense killing intent. After letting in Haruyuki, who came visiting to apologize, she had not said anything, but that was even more fearful.

What he had done, was really too true to be funny level of atrocity, he had fully realized that— or supposed to. However, the true size of the shock on Chiyuri was something a male like Haruyuki could not fully share or understand.

Anyhow, her stark naked body, was seen at a very close distance of at most one meter.

Needless to say, this is already a bigger crime than last year's Tak.u.mu putting a virus in Chiyuri's Neuro Linker. It was different than going into the bath at the same time when they were young. Yes, everything was different. The collarbone that clearly stood out, the line of the greater pectoral muscle that connected her shoulder and chest, and the unexpectedly voluminous pure white—

”...You are remembering it, right.”

That sudden low sound echo, made Haruyuki jumped about 1cm up while in his kneeling position.

”No, I haven't remembered, didn't remember!”

”You're lying, your ears are all red. Let me warn you, if you use that for something weird, then till your memory is gone, in that... what was it, oh yeah, «Unlimited Neutral Field», I will make you dive there. About 100 years worth.”

Haruyuki jumped again with that.

”I-I won't use it, I won't!”

—To tell the truth, if Haruyuki was forced to use «Unlimited Burst» command here, and he was monitored for 1 hour like that, then over 40 days would have pa.s.sed inside. The picture stored inside his brain would have been mostly distorted without a doubt.

However, over that time he would be chased around by other Burst Linkers or «Enemy», and other than loss of memory, he would have succ.u.mb to exhaustion, so Haruyuki desperately shook his head.

”Forgot it, super forgot it!”

”...Well, what kind of penance I want from Haru, I will think about that deeply later. That, I will put it on hold for now.”

With a snorting sound from her nose, she threw something fluffy at Haruyuki's head. When he glanced up, he saw that it was a large doll cus.h.i.+on.

”You can stop kneeling, just sit.”

”Ye...Yes.”

With a nod, he picked up the cus.h.i.+on. He thought it was an elephant, but the nose was short, and there were three pairs making six legs.

”Wh-What's this?”

”It's a waterbear. The strongest living thing on earth... Hey, instead of that! The reason why you sneaked into the girl's shower was a virus's fault, and the person who put it there was some kid named Noumi, that talk... Is it true?”

Haruyuki hurriedly sat properly on top of the strange living thing, and kept nodding.

”Wi-Without a doubt. For sure I went into the male marked side shower. No matter what kind of goofy alien I am, I would not have mistaken pink and blue markings.”

”But, when did he put that in you? You did not even talk to Noumi right?”

”Ye...Yeah.”

He slowly nodded.

Actually, the route the virus was put into him was all a mystery. It would be contact with his Neuro Linker in the one week between the school entrance ceremony and today, but Haruyuki himself could not think of any chance for that.

If he was able to examine the virus itself, then he might be able to find the time that it was put there, but no matter how much he checked the physical memory, he could not discover any strange program. After looking at the Neuro Linker activity log, he found out that right after he entered the female shower room, a trace was left of an unknown file automatically erased. Since he did not remember doing that himself, then probably, the virus was activated and reached it's goal— that meant after filling Haruyuki's view with those markings, it was set to self destruct.

”But then...”

Chiyuri's thick eyebrows wrinkled, and she tilted her head.

”If he could do that, then why did he not totally destroy Haru's Neuro Linker OS, or erase the «Brain Burst» program? If his goal is to stop you from «duels», then wouldn't that be more effective?”

”No matter what, viruses cannot destroy system files. The most it could do is use functions for pranks. And also, for the Brain Burst program itself, once a person becomes a Burst Linker, he could download it from anyone else. Without that, upgrading the Linker would not be possible. Of course, you would have to put the core card in the new Linker...”

After that reb.u.t.tal, Haruyuki also wrinkled his face.

”No, but... to tell the truth, if he could use high level skill of replacing sight and sound, then instead of prank level, he could have used more wild methods... For example, like replacing the road crossing red signal with blue signal, and full sensory masking of the racing cars, then he could even kill me...?”

”Ki-Kill...?”

After that involuntary shout, Chiyuri held her mouth with her hand to prevent her mother that should be in the living room from noticing, and once again said.

”Kill, hey you, what are you saying!? Th-That's not game talk.”

Here, Haruyuki could only weakly smile and shook his head.

”Brain Burst is a game but not a game. For guys like Noumi who use «Acceleration» for status in the real world, they will do anything to protect their power. Think about it, if it was not you who came out of the shower booth there, and it was some other girl, then now I...”

”...Would be in the police station, right.”

With a belated s.h.i.+ver on her back, Chiyuri whispered.

”But... Then, from now on, that Noumi guy would set more traps for us like that? Not only Haru... Ta-kun, Kuroyuki-senpai, and me also would be targeted...?”

”No, I won't let him behave like that.”

Trying to sweep away Chiyuri's unease, Haruyuki interrupted with unaccustomed tone.

”After understanding that guy's att.i.tude, we will no longer just wait and see. Maybe tomorrow, Taku and I will go after that guy. Though it's not my choice... if necessary, even with forced direct connection, we will expose the secret of why he did not appear on the matching list.”

”...Haru...”

However, Chiyuri still looked depressed as she bit her lips, and her face lowered.

”I... somehow, don't like it. I feel something is wrong. It's just a game... but Haru, Ta-kun, and Noumi also, don't seem to be having fun at all.”

”Th-That's not true.”

He hurriedly shook his head, but at the same time thought that it was not unreasonable for her to think like that.

Since Chiyuri is a rare avatar, that is «Recovery Type», she had not even once experienced the normal «Duel». That field's width and detail, the battle's excitement and the exhilaration of winning, he wanted a lot to show her that quickly, but that would have to wait till Kuroyukihime returned to Tokyo one week later.

”At-At least for me, I changed after meeting Brain Burst... I also had a heart to heart talk with Taku, and I feel that my slavishness parameter had gone down a little...”

After hearing those non-connecting words, Chiyuri quickly blinked, then showed a smile with deep meaning.

”...Well, that might be true. If it was Haru from before, after seeing me naked, you would have surely ran away for a month without even apologizing to me.”

Ugh.

At the end of those words, that problematic picture again reappeared inside his brain, so to hide his heated face, Haruyuki again kneeled down.

”Excuse me, sorry, my bad, really sorry!!”

”Stop that already!”

Again another cus.h.i.+on came flying, hitting his head.

Continuing after that, what a returned sharp tongue, Chiyuri announced in a low tone.

”Also, let me warn you. That shower room incident, if you tell Ta-kun, then this time for sure I will blow you away. I will also tell Kuroyuki-senpai afterward.”

”Wha?”

Haruyuki suddenly froze.

To be truthful, he did not plan to leak this to Kuroyukihime, but he thought about reporting this to Tak.u.mu after this apology.

”Ta...Taku also?”

”Of course, what were you thinking of?!!”

While getting hit with the third cus.h.i.+on on his head, Haruyuki thought, So it's matter of course.... But, if it's like that, how would he explain Noumi's attack? No, he should only report that he had been mislead to the female shower room, then he would not have to say anything about running into Chiyuri there.

While feeling somewhat shameful for keeping a secret from his best friend and comrade, Haruyuki took a deep breath, and shook that away.

Right now is not the time to drag that shower room incident out.

That, was a declaration of war from Noumi. In the war that was going to begin, they would need all of their concentration. And then if possible, he would like to have this problem solved before Kuroyukihime returned from Okinawa. He would not want to expose that level 9 person to danger.

While listening to himself saying that, Haruyuki left the Kuras.h.i.+ma house, and returned to his home two floors above.

However, Haruyuki was mistaken. He did not see that he was already in a situation with no way to turn around.

Before he realized that, the war had already begun, and it also ended.

<script>